Your Views

Congratulations to artist Lahib Jaddo for having her two nudes censored by Lubbock City Hall. This puts her in the company of other artists who would not be able to exhibit their works in any gallery controlled by Lubbock's Philistine leadership: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, van Gogh, and Picasso, to name only a few.

Congratulations also to Lubbock, a burg that cozies up to an elite group of other cities that have censored art. Lubbock's peers on this list include Moscow under Communism, Berlin under Hitler, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Tehran (Iran), Pyongyang (North Korea), and Damascus (Syria). Perhaps Lubbock should establish sister-city relationships with our peers in the Axis of Evil.

NORMAN BERT/Lubbock

Gas prices here cheaper than in Southwest Texas

As a former resident of Lubbock, I was online reading the gas price article (A-J, Dec. 13).

I applaud to that price. Here in Presidio in Southwest Texas, our gas prices are still at $3.09 from a recent $3.19 a gallon. Sure would like to see those kinds of gas prices around here. Especially since we live about two and a half to three hours from the nearest big city. I love The A-J, by the way.

TERESA DOMINGUEZ /Presidio

Insufficient resources are devoted to at-risk group

On Dec. 13, The A-J ran a short story headlines "Convicted burglar gets life."

I don't know the offender or the victim. The story reported the offender is 34 years old and has already spent 12 years of his life in prison. From the age of 22 to 34, I was building a career and a family. This fellow was doing hard time. Now, he's going to be incarcerated for the rest of his life for a burglary where no one was physically injured.

In Texas, we are warehousing more than 150,000 inmates at an annual cost of at least $15,000 each. I can assure you there isn't $15,000 available to ex-offenders for a fresh start once they leave prison. These guys walk out of jail with no transportation, no job and few prospects for housing. Many are also battling addictions.

I'm sure a life sentence is a big win for an ambitious prosecutor, but wouldn't 10-15 years be more reasonable and humane? I'm a much better man than I was at 22. Isn't it possible the offender may have something to offer society by the time he's 50? If we really want to be tough on crime, let us put as much time and as many resources into those at risk of committing crimes as we do punishing them after the fact.

Luke 12:48: But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Book banning, art censorship, and limited words on what I can write to a newspaper. The First Amendment sure is being hit hard in West Texas. I never thought that socialism was so popular here. Conservatism has become the end of democracy and we are leading the way. The next time you go to church, enjoy it, because your religious beliefs may be next.